Hypersmurf
Moderatarrrrh...
!?
It's not Sonic damage then, is it?
-Hyp.
Sonic Damage?
- Thread starter Datt
- Start date
!?
It's not Sonic damage then, is it?
-Hyp.
Maitre Du Donjon
First Post
Where has it been clarified that silence blocks sonic damage? I remember vaguely some discussions about this, but I don't remember if it was officialized or not...
If silence does block sonic damage, and a screaming weapon's bonus damage isnt blocked by silence, then, by logical deduction, the damage done by a screaming weapon isnt really sonic damage, or a special version of it... (the definition of "Screaming" states that it is sonic damage, tho).
Maitre D
Edit: bluhflblblbl. Its right there in the silence description. nm. So Screaming weapons use a special from of Sonic damage?
If silence does block sonic damage, and a screaming weapon's bonus damage isnt blocked by silence, then, by logical deduction, the damage done by a screaming weapon isnt really sonic damage, or a special version of it... (the definition of "Screaming" states that it is sonic damage, tho).
Maitre D
Edit: bluhflblblbl. Its right there in the silence description. nm. So Screaming weapons use a special from of Sonic damage?
Last edited:
Hypersmurf
Moderatarrrrh...
Annoyingly, it's not in the SRD version of Silence.
But I find it annoying that Screaming bypasses that drawback of Sonic damage. That's like saying "The weapon deals 1d6 Fire damage, but affects creatures immune to fire".
It's not really in the spirit of Fire damage any more, is it?
-Hyp.
Maitre Du Donjon
First Post
Quite a conundrum.
Since the SRD is the most recent version, could we assume that it doesn't block sonic damage anymore? My PHB is a 1st edition, so it might have been corrected afterwards. I haven't checked the FAQ yet.
Hehe i searched altavista with +"sonic damage" +silence and i'm quite surprised to have gotten 8 pages of hits. I'm not inclined in going through these pages in the vague hopes of finding an answer...
maitre D
Since the SRD is the most recent version, could we assume that it doesn't block sonic damage anymore? My PHB is a 1st edition, so it might have been corrected afterwards. I haven't checked the FAQ yet.
Hehe i searched altavista with +"sonic damage" +silence and i'm quite surprised to have gotten 8 pages of hits. I'm not inclined in going through these pages in the vague hopes of finding an answer...
maitre D
Hypersmurf
Moderatarrrrh...
[shudder]
The PHB always trumps the SRD. We're playing D&D.
-Hyp.
Maitre Du Donjon
First Post
So, unless specifically stated, silence blocks sonic damage. Screaming weapons are an exception. Lets make it the exception that confirms the rule.
Maitre D
Maitre D
Hypersmurf said:
No, it is like saying a flaming weapon deals fire damage underwater. This makes sense if you have ever seen a magnesium flare. Likewise, the vibration from the weapon is dampend out of hearing range, but are still damaging to those in very close proximity to it.
Or it might just be FR and therefore broken
Norfleet
First Post
Silence and sound is always a strange one.
Sound, for instance, is caused by compression waves in the medium, such as air, or water. In short, sound is the effect of the MOTION of the medium.
So, what does "silence" do? Does it suppress any such motion, thus making it impossible for a character to breathe, since this also requires the air to move? Does it suppress the ability of characters to perceive this motion, meaning that the sound would be audible outside the affected area? What happens if a nuclear explosion occurs within a silenced area? Will the shockwave, propagate through the silenced area, inflicting the damage, but also creating a sound, or will the effect be like detonating a nuke in vacuum, where the energy simply remains as hard radiation and EMP?
It's easy enough to ignore this, dismissing it as "it's magic", until sonic damage comes up. The best option for consistency would be "sonic damage doesn't work either", eliminating the pseudo-science effects.
Silence is a very messy.
Sound, for instance, is caused by compression waves in the medium, such as air, or water. In short, sound is the effect of the MOTION of the medium.
So, what does "silence" do? Does it suppress any such motion, thus making it impossible for a character to breathe, since this also requires the air to move? Does it suppress the ability of characters to perceive this motion, meaning that the sound would be audible outside the affected area? What happens if a nuclear explosion occurs within a silenced area? Will the shockwave, propagate through the silenced area, inflicting the damage, but also creating a sound, or will the effect be like detonating a nuke in vacuum, where the energy simply remains as hard radiation and EMP?
It's easy enough to ignore this, dismissing it as "it's magic", until sonic damage comes up. The best option for consistency would be "sonic damage doesn't work either", eliminating the pseudo-science effects.
Silence is a very messy.
Hypersmurf
Moderatarrrrh...
Especially when you consider the line "This spell provides a defence against sonic attacks."
-Hyp.
The way that it is written in MOF is that it is not so much a screaming wave of sound but rather a sub-sonic effect, rather like a vibro-blade effect (in star wars). Thus as it is not really the sound component that does the damage, but the high frequency vibrations that the weapon hits you with. Which would mean that it does not get affected by a silence spell.
